Corn cutting machine



June 6, 1950 COVER 2,510,558

CORN CUTTING MACHINE Filed Oct. 24,- 1946 3nventor Ralph Cover Gttomegs Patented June 6, 195i) ,UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCEi] V "2,510,558

CORN-CUTTING MACHINE Ralph Cover, Westminster, Md. Application-October 24, 1946, Serial No. 705,354

The invention relates generallyto machines for cuttin reen. kernels from. theieohson which thevare rown, and it primarily seeksto provide .a. novel mounting iorthe cutter heads emnloyed n suchmachinesi An example of a cutting machine of the kind referred o is o be found in the U., S. Letters Patent 2 332,,894 issued. October 26, 1943 to Ralph Cover and an exampl of a, highly eflicient cutter head adapted for. use in such. machines and for which the herein disclosed mounting is designed is to be found in the U. S. Letters Patent 2,216,065 issued September 24, .1940 to the saidv Ralph Coven In he corn cuttingmachine referred to there are included an elongated frame. a cutter head mount d at each end of the frame, two sets of. corn ear clamping or holding devices mounted in longitudinalfalignment adjacent therespective. endsoi the machin a recipr catingpusher which i's'alternately forced endwi'se through and then Withdrawn from, he ali ned sets of clampingdevices for forcing clamped corn cars from said devices into and through the cutterheads and then withdrawing; to permit insertion of Succesive corn ears into said devices:

Each cutter head includes a centrally apertured'head plate disposed perpendicularly with respect to the axis of reciprocation of the pusher so that the" corn ears are forced" through the plate apertures;- A plurality of blade carriers are-pivotally" mounted in equidistantly spaced relation about-each head plate-aperture 'and ea'ch carries acutter blade and alsois equipped-with a gage memberwhieh' is contacted by the corn ears as they approach-theblades-in a mannerfor t-automatioaliy' positioning the blades tor properlyengag-ing and cutting'the corn kernels: A circumferentially slidable ring is provided and all. ofthe blade carriershave slot and pin conneetion with the ring so-that upon-.movementofi theringin one. direction all of the-connected carr er willheinoved outwardly, andupon move-.- ment Q therin in the opposite direction all said car ers; be moved; mwerdln; Spring tensiehing means isnrovidedicr con tantlvtending o hold the ri and the blade. carrierszin the. tt fl i E SHiiQIl; end-the: g gQ members and blades against corn eer ina orced therethrou h.

t has. been the pra tice heretoiore in the manu actur of machines. ot character. re. ferred tote. rigidlvmoimt the cutter heed-units tethe: respective ends. oi the. machines be use 2 Claims. (01.130-43) required complete dismounting of a head unit whenever it was-necessary to make even minor adiustmentior substitution of parts; or to gain access to the ends of the frame at the position of the pusher and corn car holder devices; This was objectionable because of the time and labor spent in such removal and'replacement of head units, andalso because of the danger of dropping said units and damaging the parts thereof;

Therefore, itis an object of the invention to provide anovel corn cutter :headmounting which will greatly facilitate the mounting and dismounting of such units and render unnecessary complete removal of the units in manyinstances.

Anobject of the invention is to provide a novel corn cutter head mounting in which the cutter head is swingable into and out of its operative-position at the: end .of the machine frame and is secured in operative position: by a readily removable slip. pin.

Another object of the inventionv is to provide in a. machine of the character stated a mounting head having an opening through which the corn ears are: pushed by the reciprocatingpusher and mounting ear means disposed-at each side of. said opening, a cutter head unit'mountable over said opening and including a: head plate having mounting ear means at each side thereof and disposed for cooperation. with the mounting ear means of thetmounting' head, each cooperat ing set'of the: cutter head; and mounting head mountin ear means having uprightly aligned" fulcrum pin receiving aperturesxtherein; and a fulcrum pin; removably mounted inthe apertures of each said mounting ear set so that: upon removal of one or the other of said pinsthe cutter head, can be swungjaway from the mounting head aboutthe other of said pins;

Another object of the invention is to provide inan improved machine structure of the character stated.- novelmeans for quickly and, con veniently. varying. the tension. in the spring means: tending constantly to urge the cutter blade carriers and gage members inwardly.

Another object-of the invention is to provide a tension adjustment; of the character stated including a tension spring anchoredat one end. on. the slidable ring and having; a finger hook plate attached to the other end thereof and provided with aplurality of selective apertures therein. each spaced a diiferent distance from; the spring an chor,- said apertures beingtseleetively plaeeable overanv anchor pinproieeting" from the head Plate,

of'bolts or other forms of clampingdeeigqewhicir 5g; With the above and other objects in View that;

will hereinafter appear, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description, the appended claims, and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating one end portion of a corn cutting machine including the improved cutter head mounting.

Figure 2 is an end elevation, parts being broken,

away and in section to clearly illustrat the partial removal of one of the fulcrum pins.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating one side of the head plate of the cutter head unit.

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail face view of one of the tensioning devices.

In the example of embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, one end of the elongated frame of a corn cutting machine is indicated at 5, and 6 designates the mounting head which is secured to said frame end as at I. The mounting head -6 includes a central opening 3 through which the corn ears are thrust by the reciprocating pus-her (not shown) and at its end is equipped with an annular seat 9 against which the cutter head is adapted to abut in position for having the kernels cut from the corn ears fall through the discharge throat I of said head 6.

From each side of the mounting head 6, a set of mounting ears II projects in a lateral direction. It will be apparent by reference to Figure 2 of the drawings that the ears II project from the head in parallel, vertically spaced relation, and said ears are provided with vertically aligned apertures I2 for receiving removable fulcrum pins I3.

The cutter head unit generally designated I4 includes a head plate I having a central opening I6 through which the corn cobs may pass after they have had the kernels cut therefrom. A plurality of cutter blade carriers II are mounted on the plate on equidistantly spaced pivots I8, and said carriers have arm extensions I9, each of which is equipped with a gage member 25 at its free end. The blade carrier and gage arm units are slot and pin connected as at 2| with a circumferentially slidable ring 22 so that upon movement of the ring in one direction, all of the connected blade carrier and gage units will be moved outwardly, and upon movement of the ring in the opposite direction all said units will be moved inwardly.

Anchor pins 23 project from the ring 22 through arcuate slots 24 formed in the head plate l5 and said pins form anchors for the tension springs 25, two such pins and springs being clearly illustrated in Figure 2. At their other ends, the springs are connected to finger hook plates generally designated 26. Each of said plates has the end thereof which is remote from the spring attachment equipped with a finger hook 21, and its fiat body portion is equip ed with a plurality of selective anchor apertures 28 which are selectively engageable over anchor pins 29 projecting from th head plate I5 in the manner clearly- A handle 30 is connected with the circumferentially slidable ring 22 through an arcuate slot 3| formed in the head plate I5, and the portion of the handle connected with said ring operates between a fixed stop 32 and an adjustable stop 33 positioned on said head plate. It is to be understood that as the handl 30 is moved to the left as viewed in Figure 2, the shifting of the ring 22 will act through the slot and pin connections 2| to force the corn cutting blade and the gage members 26 apart. It will also be apparent that the selectively anchored springs 25 constantly tend to force the blades and gage members inwardly and to hold said elements in contact with the corn ears when they ar passing through the cutter head.

By inserting a finger under the plate hooks 21, it is possible to quickly adjust the tension of the springs 25 to suit the desired operating conditions. Should it be desired to shift the handle 30 to the left as viewed in Figure 2 and hold the cutter blades and gage members in the spaced apart condition this can be readily accomplished by swinging the hook retainer 3 3 over the adjacent anchor pin 23, after which the handle 30 can be released.

At each side of the head plate I5 is provided with two horizontally and laterally extended arms 35, and said arms may be joined by a vertical connector 38, if desired, in the manner clearly illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings. Each of the arms 35 is extended endwise in the manner clearly illustrated in Figure 3 to provide a mounting car 31, and the ears of each set of mounting cars 31 are arranged in parallel, vertically spaced relation for cooperating with the previously described mounting ears II in the manner clearly illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. The ears 31 have vertically aligned apertures 38 for receiving the readily removable fulcrum pins I3.

When it is desired to mount the cutter head, both fulcrum pins I3 are removed and the apertures of the cooperating mounting ear sets II and 37 are brought into registry. This placement of the parts is facilitated by placement of the head plate I5 against theseat 9 with the mounting ears 3? between the upper and lower mounting ears II. By now inserting the fulcrum pins I3 through the registering apertures I2 and 38, the mounting of the cutter head I4 is completed.

Whenever it is desired to inspect the interior of the mountin head 6, or to make adjustments or substitutions of the cutter head parts, it is possible to remove one or the other of the fulcrum pins I3 and to merely swing the cutter head I4 about the remaining fulcrum pin in the manner clearly illustrated in Figure 1. In this manner, it is unnecessary for an operator to completely remove the cutter head or to support the weight thereof in moving the same away from the open end of the mounting head 6. It will also be apparent by reference to Figure 1 that by reason of the particular arrangement of the mounting ears I I and 31, the cutter head I4 may be swung clear so as to entirely avoid obstruction of the open end of the mounting head 6.

While one form of the invention has been shown for purposes of illustration, it is to be clearly understood that various changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention as defined in the ap-. pended claims.

I claim:

1. In a corn cutting machine, a mounting head having an opening through which corn ears are to be fed and mounting ear means disposed at each side of said opening, a cutter head unit mountable over said opening and including a head plate having mounting ear means at each side thereof and disposed for cooperation with the mounting ear means of the mounting head, each cooperating set of the head plate and mounting head mounting ear means having uprightly aligned fulcrum pin receiving apertures, and a fulcrum pin removably mounted in the apertures of each said mounting ear set so that upon removal of one or the other of said pins the cutter head can be swung away from the mounting head about the other of said pins.

2. Cutter head mounting means as defined in claim 1 in which the mounting head includes an annular seat against which the cutter head unit head plate engages in the operative position of said head unit, and in which the mounting ear means of the head plate are extended in a. direc- 6 tion parallel the axis of and at opposite sides of said seat so that when the cutter unit is swun away in one direction or the other the head plate will be placed well away from any position of obstruction with respect to all portions of said seat.

RALPH COVER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 103,543 Barker May 31, 1870 243,829 Barker July 5, 1881 708,966 Meyer Sept. 9, 1902 1,519,241 Daniel Dec, 16, 1924 1,573,579 Ross Feb. 16, 1926 1,589,697 Howd June 22, 1926 1,667,362 Van der Vliet Apr. 24, 1928 2,216,065 Cover Sept. 24, 1940 2,273,455 Whitman Feb. 17, 1942 

